FULL/WAIT LIST ONLY - email hannah@mainewriters.org to be added
A Memoir & Personal Essay Workshop
Level: All Levels
Writing about difficult life circumstances—such as illness, death, trauma, abuse, family dysfunction, displacement, and more—can help a writer understand them in a more profound way. The process of re-entering those memories, taking them apart, and then putting them back together again on the writer’s own terms, can transform them into something deeply meaningful for both writer and reader.
This workshop will provide a compassionate and supportive space for participants to engage in reading and writing exercises that begin peeling back the layers of their experiences and helping them uncover the powerful stories they have to tell. Participants will discuss the challenges of confronting the vulnerability, fear, and pain that inevitably accompany the journey to bring hard stories to the page and learn strategies for taking care of themselves in the process.
Each attendee will also have the opportunity to submit a short excerpt from a memoir-in-progress or narrative essay in-progress and receive constructive feedback on its possibilities from the class. Advance readings will be provided.
+ SUBMIT After registering, participants are asked to submit an excerpt from an unpublished memoir-in-progress or narrative essay of up to 1000 words by no later than 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 1. Please take the deadline and word limit seriously as MWPA likely cannot accept late submissions and excess words will be cut. Please note that these manuscripts will be distributed in advance via email to the other workshop participants and instructor for constructive feedback. Please email the manuscript to hannah@mainewriters.org with the subject line: “BROOKS WORKSHOP MSS.” Please use standard formatting (1” margins, double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman) and submit Word docs (ideally) or PDFs only.
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will occur online, using the video meeting platform Zoom. Students do not need to create an account to participate, but should test out Zoom before their class if they are first-time users. On Thursday, July 8, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, MWPA’s Hannah Perry will offer a test session on Zoom. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the test session, which usually takes only 5-10 minutes, and those who do not are responsible for ensuring that they are able to use Zoom on their own. The week of the workshop, students will be emailed a link that they may click to enter the test session and the class.
+ REQUIRED EQUIPMENT A reliable, fast internet connection (broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE), speakers & a microphone (built-in or USB plug-in), and a webcam (built-in or USB plug-in).
If you would like to quickly and easily test your internet connection and your computer’s compatibility with Zoom, click HERE. Full details on supported Operating Systems, internet browsers, and more can be found HERE. To download and familiarize yourself with Zoom, click HERE.
Melanie Brooks is the author of Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches professional writing at Northeastern University and narrative medicine in the MFA program at Bay Path University in Massachusetts, and creative writing at Nashua Community College in New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Psychology Today, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, The Huffington Post, Modern Loss, and Solstice Literary Magazine. She is completing a memoir called A Hard Silence about the lasting impact of living with the ten-year secret of her father’s HIV disease before his death in 1995. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children, and two Labs.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Hannah Perry at hannah@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information. Please note that mail delivery to the MWPA office is currently experiencing extensive delays, so please email hannah@mainewriters.org first if you would like to register by mail.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one full scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due on June 28 at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION